any aspect of social life that can fluctuate over time, or appear in different amounts of frequencies

independent variable

what you are testing or what you are in control of or what you manipulate

hypothesis

a tentative statement about how two or more variables affect, or are related to, each other

indicator

something that can be measured empirically in order to get info about a more abstract variable that is related to the indicator but is difficult to measure directly

operational definition

defining variables and or indicators

secondary data

when researchers draw on data gathered by other researchers

primary data

info collected by that researcher themself

analysis

the process of looking to see which parts go together to form a pattern or whole, and how these pieces are related

sociological theory

theories that can be thought of as attempts to explain events, forces, materials, ideas, or behavior in a comprehensive manner

theory

a set of statements that seek to explain problems, actions, or behavior

how many people committed suicide in 2000

815,000

suicide

a solitary act that relates to group life -Emile Durkheim

Auguste Comte

founder of sociology, created positivism, believed that natural science should be applied to study of society

positivism

a belief that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry

methodological positivism

the application of scientific knowledge to both physical and social phenomena

social and political positivism

the use of such knowledge to predict the likely results of different policies so that the best could be chosen

Karl Marx

believed social development grew out of conflict b/t social classes (bourgeoisie and proletariat) under capitalism; associated with conflict perspective, concluded that social class depended exclusively on the means of production

capitalism

a system of production that contrasts radically with previous economic systems in history, involving as it does that production of goods and services sold to a wide range of consumers

Max Weber

felt religion was central to social change, predestination (calvinism could not do good acts unless chosen), "protestant ethic", created ideal type tool

capitalism

the readiness to invest capital in order to make more money

ideal type

a construct or model for evaluating specific cases

collective conscience

a common social band that is expressed by the ideas, values, norms, beliefs, and ideologies of the culture, institutionalized in the social structure, and internalized by the individual members of culture -Emile Durkheim

anomie

state of normlessness (the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective -Emile Durkheim

social facts

aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals -Emile Durkheim

George Mead

founder symbolic interactionism, idea that much of human behavior is determined not only by the objective facts of a situation but also by how people define that situation

structural functionalism

parts perform function so that whole can function

conflict theory

society is composed of groups that are competing with one another for scare resources -Marx & Weber

symbolic interactionism

study how people use symbols to develop their views of the world and to communicate with one another

social structure

patterns of social relationships, social positions, and number of people, the way in which a society is organized into predictable relationships

social interaction

the ways in which people respond to one another

socialization

the process through which people learn the attitudes, values, and behaviors appropriate to their culture

social action

understanding of what people do, way in which people try to make their life turn out how they want it to, everything relies on relationship with others

functional integration

interdependence among various parts of social system- parts rely on each other and are in sync

=employers depend on the education system to qualify ppl to work

power

the capacity of the social actor to get others to do its will, and benefit from the actions of others

culture

the language, norms, values, beliefs, knowledge, and symbols that make up a way of life

subculture

part of a culture is distinctive and set apart from the rest

critical thinking

to go behind surface appearances, asking why and how events could happen or conditions could persist, and whether social change is possible; recognizing the different points of view from which a single problem is conceptualized

collective behavior

continuum of non-routine behaviors engaged in by a large group of people

typology of spontaneous collective behavior

helps to understand and predict s.p.c.b. and identify similarities and differences

crowd

people close to each other (ex. new years eve in times square)

mass

spread out among wide area not in close proximity (ex. watching time square on new years eve on t.v.)

social movements rely on media for these 3 things:

mobilization of political support, legitimization/validation, broaden scope of conflicts

material culture

consists of all the physical objects, or artifacts, that people attach meaning to

non material culture

consists of human creations that are not embodied in any one tangible object

value

a general idea that people share about what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable, values change

norms

a specific guideline for action; a rule that says how people should behave in particular situations

folkway norms

simply everyday habits and convention

mores norms

considered vital to their well-being and to their most cherished values

laws norms

rules enacted by a political body and enforced by the power of the state

symbols

objects, gestures, sounds, or images that represent something other than themselves

language

a system of verbal and written symbols with rules about how they can be strung together to convey more complex meaning

social marker

any pattern of behavior that provided indications about who people are,what groups they belong to, and what their understanding of a situation, identifies where a person or group fits into social structure

knowledge

the body of facts, beliefs, and practical skills that people accumulate over time

ethnocentrism

the tendency to assume that ones own culture and way of life represent the norm or are superior to all others

cultural relativism

viewing peoples behavior from the perspective of their own culture

culture shock

the disorientation that people feel when they encounter cultures radically different from their own and believe they cannot depend on their own assumptions about life

conspicuous consumption

the spending of money on luxury goods to display economic power

invidious consumption

consumption of goods to provoke envy of others

Thorstein Veblen

most famous for writing-the theory of leisure class 1899-leisure used to differentiate status

popular culture

ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images that are mainstream of a given culture

"pop culture"

containing qualities of mass appeal

global interdependance

a relationship in which the lives of all people are intertwined closely and any one nations problems are part of a larger global problem

research design

plan for collecting the information that is needed

organic solidarity

society must work in harmony and function as an integrated whole -Emile Durkheim